Storage Systems for Massive Image Files

The comedian George Carlin-not a name one might expect to see evoked within the pages of Advanced Imaging, to be sure-used to perform an hilarious sketch about the "stuff" people accumulate: how people buy more and more "stuff" until they fill up their home, then move to a bigger house in order to store that "stuff," then go out to get more "stuff" to fill the new house after they move,
and so on and so forth.
For imaging professionals, there is much wisdom to Carlin's
humor. Being able to create bigger and bigger image files,
and more of them, is a valuable asset, certainly-but if
there's nowhere to store them, then the point is moot. In
this graphics- and video-intensive world, finding the best
storage systems for massive image files is a paramount concern-one
that will only continue to increase with time. Just like
Carlin and his "stuff," those searching for better
storage solutions for their image files are just as likely
to run out of space again once they find them. In the meantime,
the following companies' products can at least alleviate
the problem...

The
POPnetserver 2000, from FIA Storage Systems.

The FIA Storage Systems Group (San Clemente, CA) has designed the POPnetserver 2000, an entry-level network-attached storage (NAS) appliance for small businesses, departments and workgroups. Flexible as a standalone, stackable or rack-mount unit, the POPnetserver 2000 three-drive systems is available in 40GB, 80GB, or 120GB configurations and significantly reduces network management time by providing optimized file access to multiple heterogeneous clients. The POPnetserver 2000 supports all major network protocols in mixed NT, Apple, Netware and UNIX environments and can be configured for
RAID 0 (one large virtual drive with data striped across
all physical drives) or RAID 1 (in which the second set
of drives duplicates the first set).

— Indicate 201 under September 01

Also
from FIA Storage Systems, the POPnetserver 4000.

A
higher-capacity NAS appliance from FIA Storage Systems is the POPnetserver4000, which features four hot-swappable
drives that can provide up to 320GB of storage capacity
in a 1U enclosure. Loaded with features to enhance reliability,
the POPnetserver 4000 is pre-configured for RAID 5 plus
hot-sparing, providing automatic fail-over protection. RAID
0, RAID 1 (mirroring), and RAID 5 (striping with parity)
are also available. A built-in sequential multi-kernel boot
technique allows for booting from any drive within the system,
useful if any drive should fail under RAID1. Additionally,
network administrators can add or change drives without
taking the system off-line, thanks to the server's four
hot-swappable drives.

— Indicate 202 under September 01

Minds@Work (Irvine, CA) has expanded its line of Digital Wallet portable
storage devices, making it available with three capacities
of storage: three, ten, and twenty gigabytes. This self-powered
mass storage device works independently of a computer and
can store more than 20,000 high-resolution photos or 366-plus
hours of digital audio. Geared toward professional photographers
and business travelers who require storage and transportability
options for large textual and graphic-rich files, the Digital
Wallet utilizes a Motorola ColdFire microprocessor, a 2.5"
hard drive, and a rechargeable battery system. The Digital
Wallet family, compatible with Windows 98/2000/ME, Mac,
and Linux OS, supports a variety of FLASH cards and memory
sticks.